let's get down to business

[whattaprick]

Who: Nightrunners and whoever wants to make use of the training yard for whatever reason.
When: S2 D1-D5
Where: The Training Yard
What: Training, or pointing and laughing at people training.
Warnings: Explosions and swearing, probably.

Though it's never really been off-limits, once they're down off the moon, Lambert wastes little time informing the nightrunners he officially expects them to get back to training and getting in shape. They can make ample use of the training yard facilities to learn how to work with each other after their extended vacation, or just get to know their newer coworkers in an environment closer to what their actual working conditions will actually be like.

The yard, as usual, isn't limited solely to nightrunners. Anyone who wants to work on their physical or magical skills are welcome, as well as anyone from the other departments who have anything they might want to test out that requires a combatant, for some reason.

Lambert's generally a constant presence at the fringes, sometimes participating in exercise or sparring himself, but mostly just watching and making sure no one's about to put someone's eye out or break the equipment, because that would be bad for obvious reasons.

[ ooc; this is an open log, so bring your own toplevel! ]

Comments

OTA

[hippocarnival]

In the early afternoon, Yuya makes time once they return to the carnival to take some of the open space of the training yard to practice. Of course, he's determined to get the most out of his barrier spell, but usually he's toying around with a very magically charged staff.

Mostly, he's swinging it around with no real direction. Sometimes he stands, focusing with it. At least once he throws it like a javelin, testing what it can ands can't do.

He's still figuring that out, but he has realized one of it's abilities, and frequently he has the tip down to the ground where he draws out glowing lines in the forms of circles and squares. They fade as soon as he moves on to the next shape, but Yuya doesn't seem terribly concerned about that.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita's at the training ground, but for the most part, she's slacking. As a new mercenary, Lambert's order to train technically applies to her, which is why she showed up, at least. She spends most of the day sitting on the sidelines, observing others... or more specifically, their abilities.

The staff in Yuya's hands catches her attention, and when she sees him tracing lines with it, it rouses enough curiosity in her to get her on her feet and walking over to him.

"What's that?" she asks, not bothering with a greeting.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya glances up, grinning when he sees her. "Rita! It's some sort of staff, I think?"

That's the most obvious observation, although saying it doesn't make Yuya seem any more illuminated. He's equally baffled and excited by it. "The Ringmaster gave it to me, but the note didn't really explain what it does... so I'm figuring it out."

He draws another circle on the ground, providing her a new example as the line comes to life and glows around him. "I know it does this!"

[anti_nonsense]

"Hmm..." Rita holds a hand over her chest, loosely touching something under her tunic as she studies the line drawn by the staff. She can see the magic lingering where it traced the ground -- not just the light emitted by it, but the magic itself.

"Mind if I take a closer look? I could probably help you figure it out." It'll help satisfy her own curiosity, too.

[hippocarnival]

"You can?" Yuya perks up a bit. Yuya doesn't know enough about looking at magic to know if it tells someone the specifics, but he has no reason to doubt Rita on the matter. So he turns the staff back upward and holds it out for her to take.

"Thanks. This would be a lot easier if I had any instructions!" But maybe part of the gift is Yuya finding his own way forward, and discovering what lies beyond his own magic? Just like with pendulum summoning.

Or maybe the Ringmaster just forgot. It's equally likely.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita takes the staff and turns it sideways as she gives it a good look. Then, she holds out her other palm and conjures an interface drawn in light between herself and the staff. Peculiar shapes appear on what looks like a circular screen as Rita types away at the keyboard with her free hand.

"Hmm... this is definitely the Ringmaster's work," she murmurs as she studies the display.

[hippocarnival]

That's new, and Yuya scurries around to peer at her keyboard from a couple angles as she analyzes the magic on the staff.

"I know that. Is that a magic computer?" He points for emphasis. Because it's Rita, and that probably means magic is involved. He doesn't at all understand the symbols going across her magic UI, and he won't even try to decipher them as he waits for her to give some sort of jury on what his staff is supposed to be doing.

[anti_nonsense]

"You can think of it like that, sure," Rita replies with a half-shrug. "This is the sort of interface I'd normally use while working with blastia. I got the Ringmaster to give me the ability to interact with other kinds of magic in a similar way. It allows me to analyze spells and magic items in greater detail."

With the way her fingers dance over the keyboard, tapping rapidly at the keys, it's clear that she's very used to doing this.

[hippocarnival]

The staff itself doesn't seem to be charged, specifically, with any spells besides the ward-drawing. Instead it's more like a conduit, improving the casting of warding and barrier spells.

Yuya stuffs his hands in his pockets as he watches the screen. Nope, still not illuminating, so his gaze starts to blur as he loses focus on everything except the moving colors, staring with a dull expression. It's a good thing he has friends a lot smarter than him.

"Oh. What else is it telling you?"

[anti_nonsense]

"It looks like the staff can be used to channel the user's power." So that magic Rita saw before was technically Yuya's. It resembles him, in a way.

"Those lines you can trace with it have a basic warding effect. You could probably enhance the effect by drawing magic circles or symbols..." If he knew any, which he probably doesn't. "It can also focus and amplify the effects of defense spells. You said you were practicing one with Strange before, right?" That could be a good place to start.

[hippocarnival]

"I did! I learned how to cast it." Yuya perks up, grinning. "So she knew what I was doing...?"

Yuya hadn't exactly been hiding it, so it's less a surprise that she knows because he didn't tell her and more because he's not sure how sober she was the entire vacation. Still, he's touched.

He pumps a fist in the air. "Now I definitely can't stop if the Ringmaster is helping me too!"

[anti_nonsense]

Having seen enough to get a good idea of how the staff works, Rita sweeps her hand to dismiss the interface, causing it to vanish, then offers the staff back to Yuya. She looks uncertain about his enthusiasm over the Ringmaster, though. "Uh... yeah. I guess?" She still has doubts about the Ringmaster, even though her own gift was somewhat similar in its thoughtfulness.

"Anyway, why don't you show me that technique of yours?" Rita's pretty interested in seeing what Yuya's managed to accomplish.

[hippocarnival]

"Okay," Yuya nods, taking the staff and then backing up to put a few feet of space between them. He grips his pendulum briefly with his free hand, and then up pops a translucent dome that pops up over Yuya, protruding a couple feet out. Rita can probably notice some structural similarities to Strange's spell in Portland, with the source coming heavily from Yuya himself.

It's simple, but for someone who didn't really have direct magic even in Portland, Yuya looks pretty pleased. "What do you think?"

[anti_nonsense]

Rita studies his casting process and resulting dome with great interest, then answers him with a smirk. "First, I'll have to see how well it holds up."

She shoots an arm out to her side, and that's all the warning Yuya gets before she conjures a small fireball in her palm and hurls it at him - or at least, at the barrier.

[hippocarnival]

"Whoa--hey!" He tenses up, as any reasonable person does when fire is thrown their way. Luckily, Yuya doesn't need to anticipate an attack for the shield to block it. Despite his surprise the fireball isn't enough to pierce it and instead explodes against the shield, leaving him unharmed beneath.

"Now I'm glad I practiced all vacation..." And he holds the shield up a little longer, just in case.

[anti_nonsense]

"Wouldn't be much of a barrier if it couldn't block a little spell like that," Rita says with a shrug, then adds, a little more amicably, "Looks like you got the basics down." He managed not to panic and accidentally cancel the spell in the face of a sudden attack, anyway.

"Feel like testing its limits? Knowing what your barrier can and can't handle could save your life." And it would be an excuse for Rita to throw some more fireballs at him, which is her idea of a fun time.

[hippocarnival]

Testing the limits? He'd tried before against snow, and he's been practicing his stamina, but there hasn't been a lot of chances to practice how well it stands against actual danger.

"Yeah, sure." Yuya straightens up, holding his staff in front of him with both his hands. It does seem to be easier to keep his barrier up this time.

"Okay, I'm ready! Give me your best shot!"

[anti_nonsense]

Good. Looks like he's serious about this.

Rita turns and takes several steps away, creating some extra space between then. "All right..." She sweeps her arms out, one at a time, conjuring a total of eight fireballs, all larger than that first one she threw. "Here it comes!"

She points one hand out at him and launches the flames at his shield, one after the other. They burst as they slam into it.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya flinches when the first fireball connects, but the shield doesn't waver. Nor does it for the second, or third. At the fourth, however, Yuya tightens his grip and just barely keeps the shield from collapsing in, though it wavers. It's almost a battle of will, where Yuya's strength needs to be stronger than the force that wants to get through.

The quick succession is more than he can do to reinforce it, however, and the seventh fireball cracks the shield and disperses it. Yuya immediately throws himself to the floor, his face smacking into his staff while he shields his head from the flames exploding above him. At least he can dodge.

[anti_nonsense]

As forceful as Rita's attack is, she keeps an eye on Yuya's barrier all the while, her magic perception active and amplified. When the barrier gives, she focuses on the bursting flames, exerting just enough control over them to ensure that they don't quite reach Yuya. Fortunately, he's smart enough to dodge, rendering that safety measure almost unnecessary.

"You've still got a long way to go," she observes in a nonchalant tone, taking a few steps closer and glancing to make sure Yuya didn't actually catch fire. "A real enemy will come at you with a lot more than a few measly fireballs."

Some might argue that eight is a bit more than a few, and their size and force don't exactly qualify as measly, but her point still stands, she's pretty sure.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya sits back on his feet, rubbing his nose with a pained sound. He looks up as Rita as she speaks, frowning a bit.

He won't argue she's wrong. He's seen what exactly they go up against, and if he wants to actually be able to do anything for his friends, he needs to be strong enough to stand against that. It'd be shameful to commit to all this work and then fail to actually make it useful.

"I know." He grabs his staff and pushes himself to his feet. "I won't stop here. I'll keep practicing, so next time we're in trouble I can protect people too."

He doesn't have a lot of hope they won't be in danger ever again.

[anti_nonsense]

Rita meets his eyes as he speaks, then nods approvingly. "Good."

That's just the kind of resolve he'll need to have if he wants to get anywhere with this.

"I've still got some time to kill, so if you're up for the challenge, I'll help you test that barrier some more."

Insert training montage here

[hippocarnival]

That gets Yuya to grin, and he nods enthusiastically. He's so lucky, having friends who are so willing to help him improve. So he bounces back and prepares the barrier again. "All right, I'm ready!"

At least, the barrier not being very physically demanding means he can go at it for quite a while. It's good, having to deflect stronger forces, and as the hours wear on it starts to stand more consistently and confidently, until Yuya only drops it between assaults to recharge. Occasionally he interrupts to ask Rita about her magic, and the similar sort of spells she has for this.

It's at least a couple hours of the one way assault before Yuya holds a hand up to stay here, crouching to sits down and flop his legs out with a weary sigh. "What a work out... it's getting stronger, right?"

[anti_nonsense]

"Better than what you started with," Rita agrees, then walks over and slumps down, sitting cross-legged on the ground next to him. Yuya's not the only one to get a workout; Rita's constant magic use has left her tired and sweaty. Despite her earlier slacking, it looks like Lambert got his wish of Rita actually exercising in some form here.

"Thought you would've given up an hour ago," she adds. It sounds like a complaint, but Rita was plenty eager to keep going, too. It was worth it; Yuya improved a lot in just one day.

[hippocarnival]

Yuya scoffs, looking sideways at Rita. "I've definitely trained harder than this before! I'll stay up all night practicing if that's what it takes."

He absently swings his fist in the air for emphasis. That's dedication, right? Admirable, and totally not obsessively focused.

He leans back on his hands. "Besides, this is really important to me." Rita knows that already, how much he wants to protect his friends. It's no less earnest in his tone even after their vacation. He told himself he wouldn't be so weak anymore, and now he's seeing it through. He just has a lot of catching up to do.

"You still have to practice magic to stay good at it, right?" That's how every other skill works.